


Retirement

by dementxa



Series: From A to Z (ZevWarden Week 2020) [7]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Babysitting, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M, Old Married Couple, Tumblr Prompt, zevwarden week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25152853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dementxa/pseuds/dementxa
Summary: Based on the prompt for ZevWarden week, day 7 - Future. A glimpse of Anophis and Zevran's life after they settle down and leave the life of heroes behind. Takes place several years after Trespasser.
Relationships: Zevran Arainai/Male Mahariel, Zevran Arainai/Male Warden
Series: From A to Z (ZevWarden Week 2020) [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813306
Kudos: 12





	Retirement

The pair of girls before him were listening in awe. Especially the one in the blue dress, and with her hair tied in a complex braid. She was clutching the hem of her skirt and was leaning forward, as if she was trying not to miss any detail. The other one, in a brown dress, didn't seem as enthusiastic as her sister, though she still followed the story with a sort of morbid interest. Zevran always appreciated a good audience and he continued talking with exaggerated flair.

"And then I did like this!” He moved his hand swiftly forward, hacking the air in an invisible sword. “And bam! Nuncio's head rolled right off his shoulders!"

The girls gasped. The one in the brown dress, Nephele, curled up slightly. Her pale blue eyes became even more clouded and she pushed her already trembling lower lip forward, ready to start the waterworks. Sevana, on the other hand, jumped to her feet and waved her toy staff with vigor.

"I wanna kill bad people too, like uncle Zev!"

At this moment Anophis entered the room. He carried a tray with food on it. Hazelnut pastries, Zevran guessed by the aroma. He stopped just a few steps in and regarded the group with slight surprise. He eyed Zevran, sitting in his favourite chair by the window, then Seva, who was jumping up and down with excitement. Finally, his gaze stopped on Nephele, who was sniffing and rubbing her eyes.

“Vhenan …” he sighed. “Have you been telling the girls scary stories again?”

"I want my lovely nieces to know I fought alongside the Champion of Kirkwall," Zevran defended himself. "Besides, I made sure to remove most of the really bad stuff. Like Hawke's foul language."

"It's not our fault Nephe's a crybaby!" Sevana puffed her chest in defiance. "She's scared of everything!"

"That's neither her fault, Seva," Anophis said. “If she's scared of your uncle's stories, she shouldn't have to listen to them.”

Sighing again, Anophis put the tray on the table. He then went to Nephe and knelt in front of her. He patted her on the head to get her attention.

"Now, now, Nephe,” he said gently, keeping his voice bright. “A smart girl like you knows better than to believe your uncle's tall tales. "

Zevran shot him an offended look and Anophis winked at him playfully. However, his words did seem to have an effect. Nephele stopped sniffing and managed to give him a shy smile. Anophis smiled back before pulling her in for a tight squeeze.

"That's my girl!" He let her go and gestured towards the table. “Now you two, you haven't eaten anything since breakfast, so go and have some snacks, ok?”

“Can we go outside after?” Nephe asked.

Anophis nodded and both girls beamed with joy. Sevana rushed to the table and scooped several pastries, shoving them all in her mouth at once. Nephe was much calmer, taking only on and carefully nibbling on it.

Anophis left the room, returning shortly after with two cups of fresh milk. They were different colours – one yellow, the other red – because Sevana only drank milk if it had honey in it while Nephe disliked honey because it gave her nasty rashes. He set them down beside the tray.

It didn't take long for the snacks to completely disappear, along with the milk. Anophis and Zevran helped the girls put their shoes on before letting them outside.

"And remember," Zevran told them, "you go no further than the oak!"

“We know!” Nephe smiled.

"And don't tease your sister, Seva," Anophis added, shaking a finger at the the girl. "Otherwise you'll spend the rest of your stay writing down elvhen words."

"I told you! That was an accident!" Sevana groaned, rolling her eyes. "I was aiming to shoot that beetle over the rock. I don't even know how it ended up on Nephe's head!"

"Well, you better be more careful then. And if you're intent on shooting bugs, aim them away from Nephe." Anophis opened the door. “Okay, now go and play. But be careful!” The girls rushed past him before he could even finish his sentence. He shook his head, smiling, and turned to Zevran. “Will you watch over them, vhenan, while I clean up?”

“Of course!” Zevran stepped closer to him. “But I shall require a kiss in return.”

Anophis complied eagerly, snaking an arm around Zevran's waist, pulling him closer and kissing him. Zevran gripped the front of his shirt and pushed him against the wall. They always had to 'behave' when the girls came over and as much as Zevran loved his nieces, he couldn't deny that holding back was taking its toll on him.

Anophis's lips were as soft and warm and welcoming as ever. As expected, his mouth tasted of hazelnuts and spices. He always sampled his cooking before serving it. Who would have thought that the Hero of Ferelden would be such an excellent home-maker?

He tried prolonging the kiss as much as he could, enjoying every moment of their intimacy. Finally, they parted, but still remained close enough that their chests were touching. They looked at each other, both panting slightly, and smiled.

“Amor, are you sure we can't sneak off to the bedroom just for a little while?” Zevran asked, though he knew the answer already.

“I wish we could, but we gave word to Aina we'll look after the girls.”

“Right, right.” Zevran sighed. “Alright, I'll go watch them. Don't take too long washing up, amor.”

They'd put a crumbling bench outside, beneath the kitchen window, so that they could watch the girls while they played. There was a large oak tree about a hundred feet away from the house. It was near enough for Zevran and Anophis to be able to see them and quickly reach them if something happened, but still far enough for Sevana and Nephele, particularly the former, to feel like they were granted some independence.

When Zevran took a seat on the bench, the girls had already reached the tree. While normally Seva and Nephe were as different as the tiger was to a housecat, it was in these moments where one started to wonder whether Nephele was truly as soft and meek as she appeared. She deftly climbed up the oak, easily navigating through the branches, while Seva lagged behind, finding it difficult to keep up with a staff on her back.

He could hear Anophis working in the kitchen and his smile grew. As usual, Anophis was whistling to himself, a tune that Zevran to be of an old Dalish song. Zevran leaned his back on the wall and closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the lovely melody.

"How are the girls?"

"Hm?" Coming back to reality, Zevran opened his eyes and turned to the window. Anophis had poked his head out and was looking at him. "They're fine. You worry too much, amor."

"You know Aina will kill us both if something happened."

"They would not have left the girls here if they didn't trust us," Zevran pointed out. "We've taken care of Nephe and Seva before. We know how to do this right.” He smiled. “Now lean down."

Anophis smiled as well and did as he was asked. Zevran rose from the bench so that their lips could meet halfway. This kiss felt even better than the one before. This time however, Anophis pulled away after a few moments and shook his finger at Zevran.

"No distractions, vhenan. You need to watch over the girls."

"They're alright." Zevran pursed his lips in disappointment. He gestured towards the oak. The girls where on the ground again. Nephele was scraping moss off the tree's trunk, while Sevana was busy digging insects out and shooting them at the sky. "You know how fond I am of these girls. I'd never let them get hurt." He watched them with a smile, then turned to Anophis once more. "Do you think we made a mistake not having a child?"

Anophis seemed taken aback by the question. He pondered for a few moments.

"I'm not sure,” he said, his voice slow and unsure. “We agreed that we weren't fit to raise a child. Are you saying you've changed your mind?”

"I don't know.” Zevran sighed. “I just … Seva and Nephe are so adorable, and we only get to see them every few months. I'm thinking that making … having a child of our own would have been nice too.”

“I see.” Anophis leaned on the window frame. “I must admit … that thought has crossed my mind too. This house does seem rather empty when Nephe and Seva aren't here.”

“Exactly!”Zevran smiled a little sadly. “Ah, but I suppose it's too late for us now, isn't it?”

Anophis gently laid a hand on Zevran's shoulder and Zevran looked up at him. His hair had now turned completely grey, the lines around his mouth had become a little bit deeper, and he complained about his creaking joints more often than he used to. But to Zevran it seemed that time had been quite generous to his beloved. He himself couldn't complain much either. But there was no denying that the two of them were past their prime.

“A child needs a lot of care,” Zevran continued. “You need to feed them, and carry them around when they get tired, and children get sick often too, don't they? This means that we would have to stay up all night often.” He sighed. “No, I suppose we truly would not be able to handle it.”

“You make raising a child sound even harder than ending the Blight!” Anophis chuckled. “I'm sure it's not that hard.”

“Perhaps not. But you and I, we are not the parent type.”

“Certainly not.” Anophis looked up. Nephele and Seva were running towards them, one carrying enough moss to cover the house with, and the other covered in insect goo and dirt. He laughed and straightened up. “But we seem to be the perfect uncle types.”


End file.
